The heaps of praise during 2000 surrounding 1999´s Ágætis Byrjun brought surprisingly little attention to Sigur Rós´ first record, released in 1997. Remaining available only through the band´s Icelandic label, it took some effort to obtain, but those who did get a copy probably found it to be just as adventurous as Agætis. Though darker and more fractured than the string-laden nooks of the follow-up, it´s just as sprawling and outright bombastic. It´s remarkable that such a young band would be this experimental at this stage in their lifespan, but the sheer breadth gets to be an albatross. Poking fun at ´70s prog rock is just as easy as shooting at cement gargoyles on a suburban rooftop, especially when you´re an indie kid or a fan of post-rock. But Sigur Rós makes Yes look like the Minutemen. Whittled down to 40 minutes, Von would be considerably more effective than it already is.